The Houston Astros and New York Yankees took the field on Saturday night with two different mindsets. The Astros were looking to make their 2nd World Series trip in the last 3 years, while the Yankees were trying to make their first appearance in a decade.
With both teams leaning heavily on their bullpens for pitching, it was the Astros who struck first. Astros' first baseman Yuli Guriel opened the scoring with a 3 run home run to take a 3-0 lead.
The Yankees would slowly crawl their way back into the game by way of an RBI single from catcher Gary Sanchez and a solo home run from third baseman Gio Urshela. A fielder's choice RBI from Houston 3rd baseman Alex Bregman gave the Astros a 4-2 lead heading into the 9th.
In the top of the 9th, Yankees first baseman DJ LeMahieu hit a dramatic 2 run homer off of Astros closer Roberto Osuna to tie the game at 4. With 2 outs in the bottom of the 9th, Astros second baseman Jose Altuve stepped to the plate and hit a towering 2 run walk-off home run to clinch the 2019 American League pennant.
Altuve's blast helped him take home 2019 ALCS MVP honors. This marks the 3rd time in 5 postseasons that Houston has eliminated the Yankees.
Houston moves on to face an NL Champion Nationals team that has had nearly a week of rest to prepare for the Astros. Game 1 of the 2019 World Series is scheduled for Tuesday night at 7:08 CT in Houston. Max Scherzer is expected to get the nod for Washington in Game 1 while Houston will start red-hot Gerrit Cole, who hasn't lost a start since May.
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